{"id":825139,"date":"2013-01-28T05:00:56","date_gmt":"2013-01-28T13:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cowbellkingdom.com\/?p=18817"},"modified":"2013-01-28T05:00:56","modified_gmt":"2013-01-28T13:00:56","slug":"perseverance-tested-in-demarcus-cousins-and-john-walls-third-nba-seasons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/perseverance-tested-in-demarcus-cousins-and-john-walls-third-nba-seasons\/","title":{"rendered":"Perseverance tested in DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall’s third NBA seasons"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"John<\/a>This probably wasn\u2019t what DeMarcus Cousins<\/a><\/strong> and John Wall<\/a><\/strong> envisioned when they jumped into the NBA Draft in 2010. \u00a0In their third pro seasons, the former Kentucky Wildcat teammates have faced perhaps the most daunting tests of their young careers.<\/p>\n

This year has been a challenge, to say the least, for two of the league\u2019s most talented up-and-comers. \u00a0In season three of their NBA journeys, their enormous potentials remain largely untapped.<\/p>\n

Since his first overall selection in the 2010 draft, Wall’s career numbers stand at 16.2 points, 8.1 assists and 3.8 turnovers over 144 games. \u00a0Cousins, meanwhile, has averaged 16.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.9 fouls over 185 games. \u00a0They’ve tantalized and shown flashes of talent, but they haven’t been able to sustain the consistency needed to take their games to the next level.<\/p>\n

Part of the reason has been due to their troubles getting on the court this season. \u00a0Cousins and Wall have both missed time this year, but for two very different reasons. \u00a0The Kings starting center once again let emotions stunt his progress as an NBA player and sat out five contests due to discplinary action in November and December. \u00a0For Wall, a stress injury to his left knee cap sidelined the Wizards guard for the first 33 games of the 2012-13 season.<\/p>\n

Their paths will cross again tonight as the Kings make their annual visit to the nation’s capital to play the Wizards. \u00a0But their teams’ fortunes have gone in opposite directions since their last meeting. \u00a0Wall and the Wizards have posted a 4-2 record, while Cousins and the Kings have gone 2-5.<\/p>\n

However through their highs and lows, they’ve been able to maintain the close friendship they forged during their one-year stint in Lexington.<\/p>\n

When Wall was fighting to come back from injury, Cousins said he reached out to his former teammate. He maintains that he didn’t force the issue, knowing that Wall had the wherewithal to weather the storm on his own.<\/p>\n

“We don\u2019t really have to talk much,” Cousins said of his relationship with Wall following the Kings’ 95-94 win over the Wizards in Sacramento<\/a>. \u00a0“I mean, I kind of know where his mind is when he\u2019s in a time like that. \u00a0I\u2019ve been around him enough to know.”<\/p>\n

Cousins said he gave Wall room to breathe while he found his way back to the court. \u00a0The Kings starting center believed it was important that Wall had his space while working toward making his season debut.<\/p>\n

“I know (it was) a tough time,” Cousins added. \u00a0“He\u2019s missed playing ball. \u00a0I\u2019m just happy for him to be back out there.”<\/p>\n

When Cousins battled suspensions that cost him and the Kings early success, Wall was there to offer support as well. \u00a0The 22-year-old Wizards guard encouraged his former teammate to not let frustrations get the best of him.<\/p>\n

“Just keep you\u2019re head up bro, keep moving,” Cousins said of the simple piece of advice Wall offered him. \u00a0“And I mean, that\u2019s (worth) a thousand words there.”<\/p>\n

Wall’s advice is something that Cousins valued highly at the time. \u00a0But, it’s also advice he could apply to each day as he continues to work toward unlocking his massive potential.<\/p>\n

Editor’s note: For a look at this story from Wall’s perspective, read this feature from Michael Lee over at the Washington Post<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The two ex-Kentucky Wildcats have had their resolve tested in their latest pro campaign.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[610259261],"tags":[5204276,35890,2699166,277716,76563,25488],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPerseverance tested in DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall's third NBA seasons - The Sports Daily<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/perseverance-tested-in-demarcus-cousins-and-john-walls-third-nba-seasons\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Perseverance tested in DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall’s third NBA seasons\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/perseverance-tested-in-demarcus-cousins-and-john-walls-third-nba-seasons\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Sports Daily\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-01-28T13:00:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.cowbellkingdom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/IZ0A7803.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alan Draper\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@sportsdailytsd\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@sportsdailytsd\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alan Draper\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/perseverance-tested-in-demarcus-cousins-and-john-walls-third-nba-seasons\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/perseverance-tested-in-demarcus-cousins-and-john-walls-third-nba-seasons\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Alan Draper\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2c8aadde2571800d0de74323730df7b5\"},\"headline\":\"Perseverance tested in DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall’s third NBA seasons\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-01-28T13:00:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-01-28T13:00:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/perseverance-tested-in-demarcus-cousins-and-john-walls-third-nba-seasons\/\"},\"wordCount\":574,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/perseverance-tested-in-demarcus-cousins-and-john-walls-third-nba-seasons\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.cowbellkingdom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/IZ0A7803.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"DeMarcus Cousins\",\"Featured\",\"John Wall\",\"kentucky wildcats\",\"sacramento kings\",\"Washington Wizards\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Cowbell Kingdom\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2013\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/perseverance-tested-in-demarcus-cousins-and-john-walls-third-nba-seasons\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/perseverance-tested-in-demarcus-cousins-and-john-walls-third-nba-seasons\/\",\"name\":\"Perseverance tested in DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall's third NBA seasons - 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